In keeping with a tradition of making major changes to many immigration categories at the same time, there will be a significant number of changes affecting pay and requirements for all visa types in the next two months!
These changes are very complex and interact. For example, taking advantage of the lower wage requirements for an Accredited Employer Work Visa could knock your employee out of contention in applying for residence, or supporting their Partner/Dependent Children. If you want to upgrade your employees to a higher skill level so they can apply for a longer visa or residence it may mean doing a new Job Check first.
We know it will be very hard for employers and visa applicants to be across all the changes.
We will be sending out more detailed newsletters on these topics over time.
Please feel free to get in touch with any of our team today if you have questions or need to make immediate changes.
Work to Residence applicants
Care Sector and Transport Sector Work to Residence applicants can continue to be paid the hourly rate that applied when their AEWV was granted, as long as they do not change employment.
Tier 2 Green List will need to be paid as per Immigration in force for their role on the date they apply.
Accredited Employer Work Visas
Existing AEWV holders must continue to be paid as per their employment agreement and visa conditions.
For new applications made from 10 March 2025:
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- The median wage of $29.66 will no longer be used for Accredited Employer Work Visas. Instead, employers will need to pay at least minimum wage (currently $23.15/hour and increasing to $23.50/hour on 1 April 2025). Employers must also prove they are paying “market rate” for the role (which may be much higher, depending on the job/industry). We have considerable expertise in proving “market rate” to Immigration.
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- ANZSCO will still apply to AEWV applications, however people in low skilled level 4 & 5 jobs will only need to prove a minimum of two years of relevant work experience in addition to ANZSCO requirements rather than the current three years.
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- WINZ/MSD will no longer need to provide a report in support of a skill level 4 & 5 AEWV application. However the employer must declare confirmation they have advertised through MSD, must interview suitable candidates, and keep records. These may be requested by INZ at any time.
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- People in skill level 4 & 5 roles will once again be able to apply for a three-year AEWV straight away. There will still be a 12 month stand down before they can apply again.
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- From 8 April 2025, people who hold any visa with work rights or Students who were allowed to work at least 20 hours per week during term time will be able to work on an Interim visa if applying for an AEWV. Time worked on an Interim visa will be counted in the maximum stay allowed by the AEWV.
More roles recognised as “Skilled”
Depending on the qualification or work experience required by the employer, the following jobs may be treated as Skill level 3, qualifying for a 5-year AEWV, and allowing the visa holder to support a Partner/Dependent Children if their income is high enough:
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- Cook (351411)
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- Pet Groomer (361113)
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- Kennel Hand (361115)
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- Nanny (421113)
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- Fitness Instructor (452111)
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- Scaffolder (821712)
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- Slaughterer (831212)
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- Agricultural and Horticultural Mobile Plant Operator (721111)
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- Excavator Operator (721214)
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- Forklift Driver (721311)
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- Mobile Plant Operators (721999)
This may also change English language requirements for AEWV applications, and whether the visa holder can support a Partner and Dependent Children.
Where the original Job Check specified less than 3 years’ work experience or a Level 4 qualification it may need to be re-done with a new visa application in order to change the skill level of the visa.
Note that these changes will only apply to AEWV applications – these roles will not be considered “Skilled” for residence unless paying 1.5x Skilled Migrant Median Wage.
Partnership Visas
People must be earning at least 80% of median wage to support a Partnership Visa. The new rate will be at least $26.85/hour to support your Partner.
Dependent Children
From 10 March 2025, INZ will increase the minimum income threshold that workers need to be paid to support a dependent child for a visa, from $43,322 to $55,844. From our experience this is particularly likely to impact employees on Sector agreements paying less than median wage eg Caregivers who earn $28.25/hour will not meet the new threshold if they only have 30 hours guaranteed in their employment agreements.
If you have staff in this situation and they can apply for their children’s visas before 10 March they should do so – any applications submitted before the rule change will be assessed under current rules. Otherwise you will need to review their minimum guaranteed terms.
Parent Category
From 28 February 2025, income thresholds for sponsors under the Parent Category will be indexed to the new median wage of $33.56 an hour.